Did you know there is a bioswale near Windlake Avenue to keep the water in our rivers and lake clean?

The Windlake bioswale was installed this past fall and is working hard during these winter months of freezing and melting water - although you may not notice! It is located just north of Pulaski Park near Windlake Ave and S. 19
th street. It was constructed by the City of Milwaukee this summer, with special thanks to the Fund for Lake Michigan, Sixteenth Street's Department of Environmental Health and their KK River Neighbors in Action for supporting planning efforts. Neighbors also helped select the types of plants that grow in the bioswale.

So, what is a bioswale and why is it important to our health?

A bioswale helps keep the water in our rivers and Lake Michigan clean! Water that falls on the street flows into the bioswale. The bioswale then filters water to remove pollutants, like motor oil and salt. It is a special planter that has a large depression in the middle that collects water, with layers of sand, compost and stone and native plants that filter the water. After it is filtered, the clean water enters into a pipe that takes it directly to the Kinnickinnic River - from which we drink our water.

A generous gift from Diamond Nexus and The Box allowed us to surprise pediatric patients with holiday gifts that would keep them "jumping" through the holiday season. We gifted jump ropes and family-fun games like Twister and Monopoly.

Sixteenth Street is now a League of American Bicyclists recognized SILVER Bicycle Friendly Business

Sixteenth Street joins a cutting-edge group of over 1,100 local businesses, government agencies, and Fortune 500 companies across the United States that are transforming the American workplace.

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The League of American Bicyclists is excited to recognize this latest group of new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Businesses for making their workplaces and their communities safer, happier, healthier, and more sustainable through bicycling," said Amelia Neptune, Director of the Bicycle Friendly America program. "We applaud these businesses, including Sixteenth Street, for leading the charge in creating a more bicycle-friendly America for everyone."

Learn more about the League's Bicycle Friendly Business program at bikeleague.org/business.

Whitnall High School students make yearly trip to Parenting Resource Center

For the past 10 years, Whitnall High School students taking Spanish have visited the
Parenting Resource Center at Sixteenth Street for both a cultural exchange and to provide generous donations to our families. In December, the students sat down with families from the clinic to practice Spanish and learn about each other's cultures, while celebrating the holidays together. They also brought generous donations of food, clothes, diapers, toys, gift cards, baby items and more. This year they donated more than 45 bags of items! It is a relationship and event that our families look forward to every year.

A huge thank you to all the students who participated and to Whitnall High School for keeping the tradition alive.

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Coming to the realization that you're making mistakes with your children can be hard. We ourselves thought we didn't need it at first, as I'm sure many parents do. But you can't think about it, or analyze what you do and don't do. Just go. Just go and give it a chance."

I heard about the parenting classes at the
Parenting Resource Center at Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers a few times in the past. But I thought, I don't need classes to raise my children, I'm doing everything just fine. The last time Sarahi [title] mentioned them to me, out of curiosity, I decided I would go to listen and see what they talked about. Plus, it would be a way for my husband and I to spend some time together and get out of the house. Little did we know, we were making a lot of mistakes and these classes would completely change our lives and most importantly, the lives of our family...

Most of the time your cervix is happy and healthy, doing its job for a lifetime with no problems. But, there are some common risks that all cervices are exposed to, the most threatening of those being the human papillomavirus (HPV).
HPV is very common. In fact, most sexually active people have HPV at some point and
nearly 13,000 women in the US are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. Yet, cervical cancer is most often preventable. So, what can we do to keep our cervix healthy and protect ourselves against HPV and cervical cancer?

This first workshop will cover basic budgeting and personal money management, but is open to the interests and questions of the attendees. There is no strict structure, we will cover whatever you want to learn!

If you attend both sessions you will receive free professional clothing! Full outfits for women, ties for men!

The KK River Neighbors in Action (NIA) meet monthly with members of the community, local elected officials and other influential partners to discuss and vote on issues they deem important to the neighborhood and take action!

What else do you want to hear about? Send us an email and let us know!